When Life Gives You Lemons...

Living with Lyme Disease Series # 1
Susan Schaeffer 2009 -all rights reserved

I am painting again.
It started as a thought , then an action.
I have dreamed for years of trying my hand at encaustic painting - as a viable way to combine my love for various mediums and be able to work with the luminous , multi-layered effects of wax. It is an old media
( more than 2500 years old ) yet can be used in so many glorious and inventive ways that it is thoroughly modern , too .
It has the immediacy of Sumi painting and the Old World glow of the ancients , layers of luminosity and depth , it is scrapeable , sculptable, and allows for many 'happy accidents' - a zen quality i love and appreciate.
I am hoping to eventually combine photos, painting, drawing and collage elements in order to achieve the true melding of all my interests and achieve a cohesive style that is uniquely my own.
I don't know why i waited so long to do this . I am just glad that i am doing it now.
Could it be some good will actually come out of all of the suffering ?
I'd like to think so .
That's why i decided to start with a series of Lyme Disease paintings - to help me work through my struggle , to try and find beauty in the ugliness and to make peace with what is beyond my understanding or control. This is my first work . I hope to be able to work on many more in the coming months.